Ain't College Great?
by David Ginsberg
Summary: Cory, Shawn, and Topanga start college together, but a misunderstanding could threaten their relationship. Direct sequel to Things Change.
1. Chapter 1

Julia McDonald was beginning to sense some tension between her roommate's parents, so she made an excuse to leave the room and give them some privacy. She intercepted her parents, who were carrying a load of bedding upstairs.

"Hey, why don't we hang out here for a minute?"

"Is something wrong?" her Mom asked.

"It's just, I think Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence need a minute."

"What a surprise," Mr. McDonald remarked, "the proprietor of the Fairy Unicorn bookstore needs…."

"Jonathan…" Mrs. McDonald hissed.

To pass the time, Mr. and Mrs. McDonald regaled Julia with the stories about their own undergraduate experience that she'd heard approximately 100 times since getting her acceptance letter. They were interrupted, much to Julia's relief, by a pair of boys.

"Excuse me," the one with dark curly hair asked, "is room 424 this way?"

"Oh, that's my room," Julia replied, "are you friends of Topanga?"

"I'm her boyfriend, actually" he pointed to his friend, who had a more fashionable haircut and a leather jacket, "and this is Shawn."

Shawn shook her hand. Julia was glad that he wasn't the one dating Topanga.

"Nice to meet you guys," Julia said, "umm…I think Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence are having a conversation in there."

"Well, we might as well knock," Mrs. McDonald said, "after all, we don't want to stand out here all day."

"I haven't shown you my old freshman dormitory, yet." Mr. McDonald reminded Julia.

They were about to knock on the door when Topanga opened it, and practically shoved her parents outside. "You guys had better get going; I'll just finish getting my stuff set up." She noticed Cory and Shawn. "Oh, look. Cory can help me!"

Topanga turned to Mr. and Mrs. McDonald, and smiled brightly. "My parents want to get back to Pittsburgh tonight."

"Oh, you're from Pittsburgh."

"Actually," Mrs. Lawrence explained, smiling just as brightly as her daughter, "we're from Cedar Heights. We moved to Pittsburgh a couple of years ago for Jed's work, and Topanga stayed with my sister Prudence so she could finish high school. So nice to meet you."

When both Topanga and her parents were safely out of earshot, Mr. McDonald muttered "Why the hell do you need to move to Pittsburgh to open a hippie bookstore?"

"Mr. Lawrence also makes guitars," Cory explained, "Hey Shawn, remember that time he came in for career day in seventh grade?"

Shawn glared at Cory. "Yeah, I remember all right."

Cory laughed nervously. "Oh, right. I forgot about the other part."


	2. Chapter 2

When Julia returned from her tour of the frat houses, Topanga was just finishing setting up her stuff.

"Hi, Julia, we were just going to go help Cory move in to his dorm."

"You guys both got on-campus housing? Lucky you. Which dorm are you in?"

"Oh," Cory responded, "actually I go to Pennbrook." He sounded a little embarrassed.

Julia tried to assuage his feelings. "You know, I've never actually seen their campus."

As they walked past the Quadrangle, Julia tried to make small talk. "So how did you guys meet?"

Cory launched into an evidently well-rehearsed story about Topanga coaxing him off the monkey bars when they were in Kindergarten. Shawn stood behind him, lip syncing to his story and perfectly imitating his gestures.

Julia giggled and then realized she didn't want to offend Cory. "That's sweet."

"They actually started going out in eighth grade," Shawn explained.

"We didn't _start_ going out in eighth grade," Topanga objected, "we just were on a break until then."

"Sure, a nine-year 'break.'"

"Well, it's not like we were seeing anyone else."

"I dunno, you and Stu Minkus in sixth grade…"

"That was _entirely_ in Minkus' head."

Julia was starting to get confused about who was who. "So, Shawn went to school with you guys too?"

"Yeah, the first time I met Shawn was the trip to the petting zoo in Kindergarten. I didn't want to eat lunch with him, because all of the other kids made fun of him for living in a trailer park…OW!" Shawn and Topanga had pinched Cory at the same time.

"…and Cory was trying to impress me by goofing off near the llama pen." Topanga continued.

"As I was trying to say before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, I fell into the llama cage…" Shawn mimicked Cory's fearsome description of the llama… "and then I felt a hand on the back of my collar. It was Shawn. He pulled me up and saved me from the llama, and then he gave me half of his Velveeta-cheese sandwich…Ow!"

They crossed University Avenue and went up to Cory's dorm. A couple Julia assumed to be Cory's parents were arguing about the placement of a framed picture of a stalk of celery while two older boys were struggling with a trunk.

"Cory!" the man said, "still no sign of the roommate, huh?"

"Nope, but this is Topanga's roommate, Julia."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Alan Matthews, this is my wife, Amy." Julia noticed that Amy appeared to be heavily pregnant as she shook her hand.

"And this is our other son, Eric." The taller of the two boys shook Julia's hand, "and our daughter Morgan is around here somewhere."

"So nice to meet you all."

The other boy introduced himself to Julia. "I'm Jack, Shawn's brother."

"You're at Pennbrook too?"

"UPenn, actually. Hey, Cory! What's in this trunk, bricks?"

"That's my pudding trunk."

Shawn sighed. "You brought pudding to college?"

"Hey, I got one for you."

While Cory and Shawn bickered about pudding, Julia took the time to notice that Jack wasn't bad-looking either. Monkey bars or no, Topanga had definitely managed to get the short end of the stick.

"What's your major?"

"Engineering, Shawn wants to major in marketing. Did he tell you about his job?"

"Umm…no."

"Keller-Marsden, the advertising agency."

"Oh, Mr. Keller was in my father's fraternity."

"Shawn's the youngest VP in the company's history. He came up with that Budweiser commercial with the frogs."

Julia looked over at Shawn, who was making a throat-slashing motion and nodding his head toward Cory.

"Umm…guess this isn't a good time," Jack remarked.

"Actually, Julia and I had better get back," Topanga said, "we have freshman orientation in 15 minutes."


	3. Chapter 3

Topanga woke up early on the first Monday of classes, as she had an 8:00 bio class, and slipped outside without waking up Julia. When the bio class let out, she made her way to the freshman seminar she'd taken as a 'fun' class at Feeny's insistence; 'Philadelphia in Contemporary Literature.'

Topanga took her seat and started taking notes as the professor outlined the readings for the class. "We'll begin next week with _Third and Indiana,_ Steve Lopez's 1994 chronicle of gang life in the Badlands. Next month we'll start on the works of S.P. Hunter, a young writer from suburban Montgomery County. The reading list includes his second novel, _I Love You, Donna Karan_ ; as well as his short stories _The Eskimo_ and _Last Tango in Philly_.

 _I didn't realize Shawn's books were on the reading list_ , Topanga thought to herself. _I bet he'll get a kick out of that._

Topanga walked back to the dorm with Mark English, who lived on her hall.

"It's so weird I picked that class," Topanga said, "I know one of the writers on the reading list."

"Which one?"

"Shawn Hunter, he's been my boyfriend's best friend since, like, kindergarten."

"Oh," Mark sounded a little disappointed to hear that Topanga had a boyfriend, "I guess you'll get the books free."

"Haha, I guess so."

When Topanga got back to her dorm Julia was up.

"Guess who's on the reading list for my seminar class?" Topanga asked.

"Who?"

"Shawn!"

"Shawn? You mean your cute friend?"

"I never thought of him that way, but yeah."

"You didn't tell me he was a writer, I thought he worked in advertising."

"He does. The writing's sort of a hobby, but he's gotten a couple of novels and some short stories published."

"Does he ever sleep?"

The comment struck an unintended nerve, as Angela had mentioned that Shawn often woke up with nightmares that he never wanted to talk about.

"Umm…maybe."

Julia took that to mean something else and giggled. "It sounds like I ought to get to know him a little closer."

"I'm having lunch with him and Cory if you want to come."

"Great!"

They walked over to Pennbrook's student union where Cory and Shawn were waiting for them. Shawn had just gotten out of a meeting at the office and was wearing a suit. He seemed as interested in Julia as she was in him.

"So Topanga tells me she has to read one of your books for her class," Julia remarked.

"Oh really, which one?"

" _I Love You, Donna Karan."_ Topanga answered.

Shawn seemed less enthusiastic than Topanga had expected. "Oh, er..."

"What's wrong?"

"Just, um…remember you did give me permission to write about you."

"Is it an unflattering portrayal?"

"Let's just say, there's a character named Laura who's a clerk at a ski resort."

"Oh."

"Who's Laura?" Julia asked, innocently.

"You, see," Cory started, "we were on vacation at a ski…"

Topanga jumped in "Oh, no-one. It's just a story about something silly that happened when we were in high school."

"I bet you guys have a lot of fun stories, having been friends for so long."

"Oh, yeah." Topanga scrambled to come up with something that wouldn't embarrass her, Shawn, or Cory. "Hey, remember that time we were supposed to invest money in a fake stock market, and you guys bet it on the horses instead…"


	4. Chapter 4

Shawn awoke from his nightmare with a start. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was in Julia's bed. Fortunately, he hadn't woken her up, but he was sweaty and jittery so he decided to go outside for a few minutes to clear his head.

He opened the door to find Topanga in the hallway, talking on her cell phone in a low voice. She hung up when she saw Shawn.

"Bad dream?" she whispered.

"Uh, yeah. Who were you talking to?"

Topanga seemed to resent the question. "Just my mom."

"Oh."

The light woke Julia up, and she opened her eyes to see Shawn, apparently about to walk out of the room.

"Shawn? Are you leaving?"

"Oh, uh…I was just going out for some fresh air."

" _Fresh air?_ "

"I was coming right back."

"Sure. Maybe you should just go, Shawn."

Shawn was halfway down the hallway before he realized he'd forgotten his shoes, which he wouldn't have done if he'd planned on leaving. He went back and knocked on the door, but no-one answered.

Shawn made his way back to the apartment. Topanga came by the next morning with his shoes.


	5. Chapter 5

The next Friday night, Shawn had a work function downtown, leaving Cory to go to a fraternity party with Topanga and Julia. Topanga may have been just a little bit tipsy by the time they walked back to her dorm.

"Julia, we've got to set you up with a guy next," she giggled.

"Thanks," Julia smiled artificially, "but I think Shawn was enough matchmaking for me."

"He really wasn't planning on leaving."

"Right." There was an edge in Julia's voice, "'fresh air.'"

"He'd had a bad dream."

"What? Did I scare him?"

"No, it wasn't you. Shawn…didn't have a really great childhood."

Cory broke in "Topanga, do you really think we should be talking about this?"

Topanga responded in the tone of voice she used when Cory was being childish. "Of course, Cory. There's no reason to let a silly misunderstanding like this get between friends. So, Shawn's dad abused him, and his mother didn't do anything to stop it. I never got the full details, but from what I can understand he has some kind of a mental issue," Topanga made a circle with her finger pointing to her head, "and he gets nightmares maybe a couple of times a week. His girlfriend in high school told me he always used to go outside for fresh air when he woke up."

Julia gasped. "Oh, my god. I had no idea. Do you think I should go talk to him?"

"No, whatever you do," Cory interrupted, "don't do that. He'd be furious if he found out."

"Too late!"

They looked down the street to see Shawn walking towards them in a tuxedo. "You know, Topanga, you're really bad at modulating the volume of your voice when you drink." As he drew closer, Cory could tell that he'd had a few himself.

"I'm so sorry, Shawn." Julia blurted out. "I had no idea."

"I guess you lucked out, then. You wouldn't have wanted to go out with a mental case." He made the same gesture as Topanga had, and then stormed off into the night.

"I should go talk to him," Cory said, and then ran off after Shawn.

He caught up to him at the corner across from the apartment.

"Shawn, wait up!"

Shawn turned around. "Shouldn't you be back there with your girlfriend? You're gonna miss the part where my mom's a stripper."

"Shawn, I have no idea why the hell she said all that. I tried to stop her."

"I know," Shawn replied softly, "We should go up, it's raining."

They went up to the apartment and Shawn sat down on the couch.

"I'm going to ask you one question, Cory, and you have to promise me you'll be absolutely honest."

"I promise."

"Did you ever tell Topanga anything about Wayne?"

"The mailman?"

Shawn nodded.

Cory shook his head as he started to tear up. "Shawn, I promise you, I've never told anyone about that. Not Topanga, not my parents, not even Feeny."

"Thanks."

Cory stood up. "I'll talk to Topanga tomorrow."

Cory knew that the best place to look for Topanga would be in the library. He found her on the third floor of Van Pelt with her nose buried in a calculus textbook.

"Topanga, can we talk?"

"What about, sweetie?"

"Last night."

"Oh."

"I think you should apologize to Shawn."

Topanga laughed. "Cory, I don't think that's necessary. Don't you think Shawn overreacted a little?"

"No. I know he tends to overreact to these things, but on this he was right to be mad."

"Ok, well I've got a lot of work right now."

"It's only the second week of classes," Cory objected.

"Why don't we talk about this at dinner tonight?"

"Actually, I think our dinner plans are on hold until you apologize to Shawn."

Topanga's eyes widened. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"Not permanently. I know that at heart you're a good person, and that sooner or later you'll realize that you did the wrong thing and apologize."

Topanga glanced around to make sure she wasn't making a scene. "So you're picking Shawn over me?"

"You're in the wrong, and he needs me right now." Cory walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

Topanga told herself that it was good for Cory and her to take a break at the beginning of their college careers; that it would give them a chance to branch out socially. Topanga became close with Julia and a couple of other girls on their hall, and they started going to fraternity parties as a group. Being all girls, it was easy for them to get into the top-tier houses.

The one problem was that Topanga had a philosophy class with Shawn. Typically, Shawn, being himself, always sat at the back of the lecture hall and Topanga, being herself, always sat in the front row. Unfortunately, Shawn was running late the second Tuesday after the incident, and the only seat left was immediately next to Topanga.

"Nice haircut," the professor, who had asked Topanga to call him Stuart, said as Shawn sat down.

"Thanks, only cost me eight bucks."

"It looks like it. Now, Topanga here just spouted a philosophy. What is it?"

"Free will."

"Hey, he's a big deal with the new hair. And what is Schopenhauer's argument regarding free will?"

Topanga briefly panicked, thinking she had forgotten a reading, but when she looked at the syllabus, there was nothing about Schopenhauer.

"Schopenhauer argues that free will is an illusion of the _ding-an-sich_ that cannot exist in the observed world because human actions are determined by motivation and character."

Stuart didn't call on Shawn again after that, but did make sure to lob a couple of softballs Topanga's way.

After Stuart had left at the end of class, Shawn cleared his throat. "Listen, I know I'm probably the last person you want advice from right now, but be careful around Stuart."

"What do you mean?"

"Just, the way he was looking at you, I don't think his intentions are entirely platonic."

Topanga had felt a little uncomfortable with the way Stuart's eyes seemed to settle on her chest, but she wasn't going to admit that to Shawn.

"Don't you think some of this might be due to jealousy?"

"Why would I be jealous?"

"I meant on behalf of Cory. You don't think you might be subconsciously trying to keep me from finding someone else."

"Oh, I'm consciously trying to keep you from finding someone else. But if you do, you can do a whole lot better than a 30-something professor who hits on college freshman."

"You know, this would all go away if you'd just apologize for overreacting."

"See, here's the thing. I'm still pretty fucking pissed at you, so it wouldn't really go away, it would just get buried somewhere and then manifest itself in some bizarrely unconstructive way years later."

"You're sure about this."

"Totally," Shawn laughed, "I'd probably end up getting in a fight with him at you guys' wedding about him not being my best friend anymore."

"I'll make sure Eric's the best man."

"Then you'll end up crashing somebody else's wedding and getting arrested."

"Sure."

"No, really. He's planned this whole thing out in _extensive_ detail."

"Eric's planning our wedding?"

"Well he was. Anyway, see you Tuesday."

Topanga went back to her dorm room and started studying. When she couldn't avoid it any longer, she opened Shawn's novel and started to read.

 _Tallulah and Colfax were the couple in high school that everyone knows is going to get married by their 10_ _th_ _reunion and live happily ever after. Sam had watched them gradually fall in love since they met at the beginning of freshman year, while he blew through a series of meaningless one-night-stands and bad breakups…_


	7. Chapter 7

When Gabriel Buchanan got back from the shower, his roommate Cory was sitting forlornly on the bed slowly spooning pudding into his mouth.

"I can't believe she still hasn't apologized."

Gabe removed the towel from around his waist and began drying his hair.

Shawn, Cory's best friend from high school, stared resolutely at the ceiling. "See, this is why I didn't want to live in the dorms with you."

"If you'd lived in the dorms with me, this would be in the next room over."

Oblivious, Gabe threw the towel on his bed and sat down next to Cory.

"Still bummed about Topanga?"

"Yeah. It's just, we'd been together since kindergarten. We'd already picked out a name for our first-born son: Rainforest Shawn."

"Rainforest?"

"It honors both our family's traditions."

"Is there a way to honor Topanga's traditions without getting your kid beat up every day?" Shawn asked, still looking at the ceiling.

"Let's see, her dad's name is Jedidiah, and her mom's is Rhiannon."

"See, he could be Tusk, The Chain, Dreams…"

"I guess it doesn't matter now."

"…if it's a girl she can be Gold Dust Woman, Sara. Hey, that's actually a normal name."

Gabe threw an arm around Cory "What you need to do is go out and have some fun!"

"Oh, no," Shawn interjected.

"Come on, man, you want to hang out with downer Cory the rest of the semester?"

"Last time we tried to fix downer Cory, I almost peed on a cop car."

"What happened?" Gabe asked.

"I got drunk in the bathroom at Kim Sussman's new nose party and Shawn had to take me home."

"And then you got me drunk and your dad thought it was my fault." Shawn reminded him.

"Ok, if drinking's out why don't we hit up a strip club?"

"I feel like we're already in one."

Finally taking the hint, Gabe stood up and pulled on a pair of boxer shorts. "Has anyone ever told you guys you're a little uptight?"

"Uptight? I'll have you know that me and Topanga did it…"

"Look," Shawn said, "I've got a poker game with Dan and Louie tomorrow night, why don't you guys drop by?"


	8. Chapter 8

Topanga wasn't particularly looking forward to the discussion in her freshman seminar the following Tuesday. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and walked over to Fisher-Bennett.

Joey Levitan kicked off the discussion. "I think the driving force of the book is Sam's repressed homoerotic desire for Colfax. That's why he introduces Colfax to Laura. If he can't have him, he doesn't want Tallulah to either."

"So why does Sam spend the whole book trying to find purse-girl?"

"She represents his desire for a socially validated heterosexual relationship. Think of all the references in the first half of the book to wanting to be like Colfax and Tallulah. That's why he never finds her, because he'll never be able to attain that goal."

Topanga thought she should at least make an effort to contribute. "Maybe Sam's heterosexual and he just wants a relationship like Cor…um, Colfax and Tallulah have."

"No," Deb Volkov interjected, "Tallulah and Colfax's relationship is presented as being hideously conventional and stifling. No one would ever want to be in a relationship like that, especially not a high school student. Sam isn't in love with Colfax; he resents him. All the descriptions of the Mathers' family resemble an idealized bourgeois family from a children's sit-com, and all we know about Sam's family is that he lives in a trailer park. Sam is a metaphor for the feelings of inferiority engendered in the proletariat by a media landscape which continually reinforces the normative power of the consumerist nuclear family."

Topanga thought about saying something, but didn't want to get Shawn in any more trouble.

"Tallulah strikes me as a really flat character," Mike Gordon interjected, "like she's supposed to represent an idealized depiction of what an adult would want a teenager to be like."

"I don't think she's a flat character," Joey responded, "I think she's intentionally presenting herself as artificially perfect to Colfax and Sam. The way she breaks down when she finds out about Cory and Laura suggests that she used their relationship as a performance of gender normativity."

"So you're saying she's a lesbian?"

Topanga bristled in spite of herself.

"I'm not saying she's a lesbian," Joey continued, "I'm saying she's been molded by social conditioning to value the appearance of perfection over human relationships. That's why she comes across as a flat character, because she's _trying_ to be one."


	9. Chapter 9

Jack had noticed that Shawn was drinking more and staying out late, but he hadn't said anything. After all, Shawn was an adult now and he deserved to have the standard college freshman experience. There'd been no mention of rushing a fraternity, but he'd been playing poker with the same group of guys every week, and coming back to the apartment with a different girl every weekend. Cory seemed to be monopolizing less of his free time since breaking up with Topanga (again). Still, Jack couldn't help worrying about him.

Jack's fears were finally realized one Saturday night in October. He hadn't gone out because he needed to study for a mid-term, and he was surprised when Shawn came stumbling in at an unusually early hour.

Jack looked over to the clock on the oven. "You're home early. It's only 11."

Shawn shrugged, "Didn't feel much like partying."

"Oh, you, uh…want me to leave you alone?"

"No…I probably shouldn't be alone," Shawn admitted.

Jack walked over to Shawn and gently guided him to the couch. "You want to talk about it?"

 _It's good that he came to me,_ he tried to reassure himself, _he knows the thoughts he's having aren't rational this time and he's taking action to protect himself._

"I broke up Cory and Topanga," Shawn admitted. "I actually broke them up this time. It's not just me blaming myself for things."

 _Or maybe it's because the thoughts are stronger this time._ "What did you do to break them up?"

"I got in a fight with Topanga, and Cory took my side."

"Can you make it up with Topanga?"

"I guess I should try…It's just, I'm _fucking right_ this time."

"Well, if you're right then you shouldn't be the one who wants to kill yourself." Jack hadn't meant to actually say the words 'kill yourself,' but exasperation had gotten the better of him.

"I don't want to kill myself because of Topanga, I want to kill myself because I'm a fucking nutjob. It's just, every other time I've been able to talk myself out of it because it would hurt Cory but this time I really _would_ be doing him a favor."

"You wouldn't be doing me any favors."

Shawn snorted derisively "Yeah, I'm sure your dream for your college years was to babysit your fuck-up half-brother."

"No, my dream was to drink a lot of cheap beer and score pussy. Without you, I'd have probably lived that dream and then graduated and gone to work in some big investment bank and never realized there was anything more to life. Shawn, I'm a better person because of you, and I know Cory is too."

"Thanks, bro."

"Any time."

Jack waited until he could hear Shawn snoring, then tiptoed into the kitchen and quietly removed all of the knives from the drawers and the booze from the refrigerator. After stuffing them into his backpack, he went over to Rachel's apartment and knocked on the door.

Rachel opened the door in her nightgown. "Bit late for a booty call."

"It's not that. I wanted to stow some stuff in here." Jack showed Rachel the contents of the backpack.

"Shawn?"

Jack nodded without saying anything.

"Poor kid, come on in." Rachel grabbed a can of beer from the backpack and cracked it open. "You want to get yourself one and talk about it?"

Jack grabbed a beer for himself and sat down on Rachel's couch. "Thanks."


	10. Chapter 10

The next evening found Topanga in her room, trying to force herself to study. She was mildly relieved when she heard a knock on the door. Whoever it was would at least distract her for a few minutes.

Topanga's relief turned to surprise when she opened the door to find Stuart standing outside.

"Hey, I was in the neighborhood, and we talked about going over the paper, so, okay?"

 _Is this normal?_ Topanga thought. Seeing no good reason not to, she let Stuart inside. He immediately noticed a picture of her with Rhiannon and Nebula taken during their mother-daughter vacation on Martha's Vineyard two summers ago.

"Is that your Mom?"

"Yeah, that was taken on Martha's Vineyard." Topanga remembered Cory complaining incessantly that she would be leaving him for two weeks in the middle of the summer.

"She's real pretty."

"Um…thanks."

Stuart finally turned to the matter at hand. "Topanga, this paper was too good to fizzle out on the conclusion. You're too smart for that. Here. Look. 'It is possible to cross the line morally and yet not cross the line actually.' Now, that's vague. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why? The paper was on morality and ethics, and I was just saying there are definite gray areas."

"I know what the paper's about, because, you see, I assigned it. I just I want you to be more specific. The devil's in the details. I'm sitting here with you, for example, right?"

"Yeah." Topanga noticed that Stuart's hand was resting on her thigh.

"I'm your teacher, and I find you attractive. But we're talking about the assignment. Now have we crossed the line? I don't think so, no. I'm your teacher and I think you're attractive."

Stuart's hand was creeping farther up Topanga's thigh. She tried to move it "And now we're not talking about the paper."

Stuart replaced his hand. "Have we crossed the line?"

"What."

Stuart's hand was digging into Topanga's skin, now. "What if I said to you that I think about you, and I'd like to see you more than just on Tuesdays and Thursdays? See where it gets gray? When did you go to the Vineyard?"

Topanga seized the chance to stand up and walk towards the picture. "Two summers ago."

Stewart stood between Topanga and the door "Beautiful, isn't it? Okay, one more. We're adults and I'm telling you that I'd like to get to know you better. And that's what I'm going to do."

Topanga felt her heart racing. "Stuart, you're making me uncomfortable. I want you to leave."

Stuart smiled menacingly. "That's not what you want."

Topanga made a break for the door, and Stuart grabbed her by the wrist, only to let go when the door opened.

Julia looked around in surprise.

"Hi," Topanga said brightly, "Doctor Beckmann and I were just going down to the Union to discuss my term paper."

Topanga could tell that Stuart was following her, so she walked over to the Pennbrook campus and tried to lose him in the student union. She spotted Mr. Feeny reading a newspaper and sat down across from him.

"Mr. Feeny!" she said brightly, "So great to see you again."

"Ah, Miss Lawrence, good to see you too." He put down the paper, "although I'm told everything isn't going entirely well between yourself and Mr. Matthews."

"Oh, well, that's sort of silly. You know how Shawn sort of…well, he did something involving my roommate that she thought was him being a jerk, when it was actually his issues catching up to him."

"Eric told me what happened in far more detail than I, Mr. Hunter, or yourself would have preferred him to."

"Oh, umm…It's just silly because Shawn's mad at me, when what actually happened puts him in a way better light than what Julia would think had happened otherwise."

"To most people it would, but sometimes Mr. Hunter sees the world through what we might call Pink Flamingo tinted glasses."

So what do you think I should do?"

"My answer is the same as it was the day you graduated from high school, Miss Lawrence, do good."

Topanga stood up and sighed heavily. "Thanks."


	11. Chapter 11

Jack opened the door to find Topanga standing in the hallway.

"Haven't seen you in a while."

"Is Shawn home?"

"Yeah, he just got back from work. Shawn!" Jack called back into the apartment.

Shawn came out of his room.

"I'll leave you two alone," Jack said before walking out of the apartment.

"So…" Shawn sat down on the couch.

"I came to apologize," Topanga said, "I didn't want Julia to think I hung out with jerks so I threw you under the bus and I hurt you and I'm sorry."

"I forgive you."

Topanga sat down on the couch.

"Do you think I'm a flat character?"

"Huh?"

"We discussed your book in class last week."

"I take it someone wasn't a fan of Tallulah?"

"Apparently she's artificially perfect, and oppressively bourgeois."

"I don't think you're oppressive."

"You think I'm artificially perfect?"

"I think you can be a little perfectionist about school, and your relationship with Cory. If you come across as artificial, that's me being a bad writer."

"Actually, I think it's Deb wanting to get a jab in at the bourgeoisie."

"You see why I'm a marketing major. Anyway, if you want my relationship advice, stop trying to make your relationship measure up to your parents."

"My relationship with Cory is nothing like my parents…I hope."

Shawn raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You know, Topanga, maybe we have more in common than you want to admit."

Topanga sighed. "Yeah."

"Have you ever talked to Cory about it?"

"No."

"You think maybe you should?"

"Yeah." Topanga stood up. "Come on."

"You sure?"

"I aired out your dirty laundry. It's only fair that you get to see mine."


	12. Chapter 12

They found Cory in the Pennbrook student union with a couple of his friends.

Cory stood up. "Hi Topanga, this is Alex and this is Abdullah. Guys, meet Topanga."

"I'll let you two have the room," Abdullah responded. They both left the student union as quickly as possible.

Cory noticed Shawn. "Did she apologize?"

"Yeah, Cor. We're good."

Cory jumped up and hugged Shawn, then Topanga.

"Cory!" Shawn whispered urgently, "people can see us."

"Yeah, maybe we should go up to your room to talk," Topanga suggested.

"Umm…I think Gabe's sleeping."

"Ok, we'll go to my room."

Fortunately, Julia was out when they got to Topanga's dorm. Topanga sat down on the bed and sighed.

"The reason I did that to Shawn was that I was concerned about making a good impression on Julia, and I guess you guys have both noticed that I need to make a good impression on people."

"Yeah," Cory agreed.

"I just want us to be the perfect couple, the way my parents never were."

"They weren't?" Cory suddenly realized that he actually knew very little about Topanga's parents.

"The real reason my parents moved to Pittsburgh is that my mom caught my dad with another woman."

"Topanga, I'm so sorry."

"And, now she thinks he's doing it again, and…" Topanga broke down crying.

Cory went over and hugged her.

"You'll always be perfect to me."

"There's umm…something else I should tell you."

"What is it?"

"Did Shawn tell you about our philosophy professor?"

"The one who's hitting on you?"

"That one."

"Look, if you guys did something while we were on a break, I don't have a problem…"

"We didn't do anything. Or at least I didn't do anything."

Cory grew concerned. "Topanga, what happened?"

"He came up to my room to discuss my mid-term paper, but somehow it turned into a discussion of him wanting to know me better, and he started getting a little handsy. I asked him to leave, but he told me I didn't know what I wanted. If Julia hadn't gotten back when she did, I don't know what would have happened."

"Have you thought about dropping the class?"

"I tried to, but it was already past the deadline."

"Shawn, you can look out for her, right?"

"Of course, Cory."


	13. Chapter 13

Cory, Topanga, Shawn, Jack, Eric, Rachel, and Shawn's girlfriend of the week were discussing their soap opera names in the Penn student union when Topanga noticed Stuart walking towards her.

"Cory, that's Stuart," she said pointing to him.

Cory stood up and intercepted Stuart. "Listen, can I talk to you on the patio for a second?"

"Sure." Stuart followed Cory out to the patio.

"Look, your paper was pedestrian. This isn't high school anymore, you gotta take chances."

"This isn't about the paper; I don't even go to this college. I'm Topanga's boyfriend."

"You mean the loser she broke up with?"

"We're back together now."

"Really? I wouldn't know it from the way she sits next to trailer park-boy in every class."

"Shawn is my best friend; I asked him to sit with her to protect him from you. And don't you _ever_ call him that again."

Back in the student union, Topanga noticed that Cory appeared to be increasingly agitated. "Hey, Shawn, do you think we should…"

Right as she said that, she saw Cory draw back and punch Stuart in the face. "Oh my God!"

Topanga ran outside and pulled Cory off Stuart. He lunged for Cory, but Shawn and Jack held him back.

"You kids are all getting reported to disciplinary affairs!"


	14. Chapter 14

Cory had been called as a witness to Shawn, Topanga, and Jack's disciplinary hearing. After explaining to the best of his ability what had happened, he sat down next to a distinguished-looking older gentleman he didn't recognize. The dean who was conducting the hearing announced that each accused student was allowed to call a character witness. Topanga had Mr. Feeny vouch for her honesty, and Jack had Eric explain that he was never violent. When Shawn's turn came, the man next to Cory stood up and took a place at the table across from the dean.

He cleared his throat. "My name is Bob Keller. I am an alumnus of this university, and I sent my three daughters here. It would have certainly affected my attitude towards the university if I had ever found out that any of them were subjected to treatment of the sort this young lady describes. It certainly _will_ affect my attitude towards the university if in its effort to cover up this treatment it negatively impacts the career of a young man who has brought a great deal of revenue into my company, some of which I have been moved to share with the Office of University Advancement."

"I see, and do you have any comments on this young man's character."

"Shawn Hunter is uniquely in tune with the desires of his generation, while possessing a creative intelligence far beyond his years. In addition, he is an excellent negotiator and possesses a unique personal charisma."

"Very well, then. After hearing this testimony I do not believe it would be in the best interest of the University to pursue this case any farther."

Cory walked up to Shawn after the hearing was over. "You think you could get that guy to testify at my hearing?"

Mr. Keller overheard them. "No luck, kid. Hunter here is a rainmaker. You want my help, then you'd better make it rain. Besides, I never gave any money to Pennbrook to start with."

Cory put his head in his hands and sighed. "Great, I've barely been at college for two months and now I'm gonna get expelled."

"Did you try asking Feeny for help?"

Feeny also overheard them. "I'm afraid it would be inappropriate for me to involve myself in your case. This is life, and these things happen. And you're not children anymore."


	15. Chapter 15

Cory had been moping ever since he got put on disciplinary probation, so Topanga decided to cheer him up by setting up a double date with Shawn and Kelly…or maybe it was Kerry.

"So what restaurant is this?" Shawn asked as they walked down Baltimore Avenue.

"It's a new place," Topanga explained, "Captain Randy's"

"Seafood?"

"They have karaoke."

"Since when are you into karaoke?"

"You don't want to go?"

"Hey, it beats sitting around the apartment listening to Eric explain the process of childbirth. When is that kid due, anyway?"

"Valentine's Day." Cory responded.

Shawn sighed. "Four more months."

"I've never heard you sing." Kelly/Kerry said.

"That's because I haven't ever since that one dance in eighth grade."

"What happened?"

"How much time have you got?"

Shawn's explanation of the eighth-grade dance managed to fill the entire time it took for them to be seated. Kelly/Kerry wasn't a big fan of karaoke either, but Cory and Topanga coaxed them into an awkward rendition of 'I've Got You, Babe.' When they got off the stage, Cory and Topanga were bickering about the song selection.

"If we wanna win this, we must sing something dramatic."

"I know. I just don't think this is the right song for us."

"You wanna win or not?"

"Yes, I wanna win. I just don't think that you and I are the right people to express this particular sentiment."

"Topanga, it's a beautiful song, and we're gonna sing it. Hit it, Captain Randy."

Kelly/Kerry's jaw dropped as Cory and Topanga launched into an excited rendition of Bruce Springsteen's 'War,' which also included a great deal of hip-shaking on Cory's part. It didn't help that they couldn't see the screen with the words and had to improvise the verses.

"Is this, um, normal for them?" Kelly/Kerry asked.

Shawn took a long sip of his drink and smiled. "Yep, everything's finally back to normal."


End file.
